L1836 – Which way?

In my last post, L1836 – Suite Return, I introduced our next cruise, a busy two-week journey visiting Spain, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Morocco and Portugal on the Fred. Olsen ship Balmoral.

On the morning of the cruise we had a very quick and easy drive of well under an hour from our home in Dorset to our departure port Southampton, reminding us both why that is so very much a better option for us than the departure port for our last cruise, Liverpool. We were almost instantly shown to a check-in desk, and once through that we were able to board ship immediately, thanks to my being a Diamond Elite Oceans member.

This was our first time on Balmoral for a year, and after having spent several months on Black Watch in the meantime, it took a few moments to orientate ourselves and find our way to our cabin – or rather our vast suite. Like last year, following a great offer from Fred. Olsen, we are fortunate enough to be in one of the two palatial Owner’s Suites on board – in fact the very same one. These are basically like two normal suites joined together with connecting sliding doors, one serves as a living area and the second as the bedroom. The living area has a dining table for six people, two sideboards, two sofas, and two armchairs; and off it are a ‘spare’ bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe. The ‘L’-shaped bedroom has three fitted wardrobes as well as a huge bed; and off it is the main bathroom also full of marble. As well as all this space indoors, it has a vast double-length balcony outside accessed by doors from both main rooms – we have yet to calculate how many laps of our balcony make up a mile!

For economy we usually travel in Ocean View cabins, where especially on long cruises it becomes a challenge to find room for everything we take, and we have to resort to the tricks of hanging things from magnetic hooks and storing little used things in cases under the bed. However on this cruise we could spread our things out as much as we wanted, and still had spare hanging space and spare drawers in all the wardrobes. Sadly we can only dream of how wonderful it would be to travel in such spacious luxury on a world cruise!

It was almost dark when we set sail at 5pm, so I did not bother to go outside to take any photographs of a now very familiar sail-away down the Solent and out into the English Channel. We did spot an envelope addressed to us which we thought would just contain our Diamond Elite passes for shuttle buses and tenders, but fortunately we did open it then and there as it contained an invitation to have a complimentary dinner in the select Grill Restaurant that very evening – another perk from my Diamond Elite status. We were so surprised and a little taken aback to receive an invitation for the very first night of the cruise, but certainly weren’t going to refuse this treat!

On this cruise we are dining in the evenings with two friends, Rosie and Simon, who were our table companions on last autumn’s cruise on Balmoral, curiously on the very same table in the Avon restaurant. We managed to catch them as they went into dinner and explained why we would not be joining them that evening, and asked them to explain to whoever else would be on our table – it did seem strange not to meet new table companions on the first night of the cruise.

We had just sat at our table in the Grill when Carol spotted another friend of ours – a fellow passenger from both world cruises called George, who we did not know would also travelling on this cruise. He joined us for what proved to be a very delicious meal – it all made a very great start to our cruise.

When we awoke the next morning the skies were clear and the sea was flat calm, and it was a job to believe that we had started sailing across the notorious Bay of Biscay. I could not resist taking these photos and posting them on Facebook to show everyone how lucky we were to have such idyllic conditions:

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That morning we went down to see Bethany, the Future Cruise Manager, who we know well from previous cruises and who gave us a very warm welcome back. Surprise, surprise we were booking yet another cruise – well we couldn’t get as low as having just three cruises in the pipeline – even if one is a very long one! The rest of the day slipped by all too quickly, and before we knew it, it was time for dinner and to finally meet our new table companions.

I am sure that the original cruise information had told us that we would arrive in our first port of call, A Coruña (otherwise known as La Coruña) in Spain, around lunchtime on the second day of the cruise, and that our stay there would extend into the evening. We were therefore surprised to read in the Daily Times that we would be arriving at 9:30 the next morning, and setting sail at 6pm that evening – perhaps those idyllic conditions in the Bay of Biscay had brought things forward.

It was actually more like 8:30 as we sailed into port, and only just getting light, making any photography very difficult.

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The morning started very unsettled, with heavy showers interspersed with sunshine – when the sun did come out it gave a much better view of the characteristic glazed window balconies on many of the buildings, which are called galerías.

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We were booked on a ship’s tour, but that did not leave until 1pm, so once the rain had stopped we decided to go for a walk around the town. Leaving the port Carol asked me which way we should go – left or right – and wanting to visit a chemist shop I sought advice from “Mr Google” who directed us left. We found the chemist ok, and a few things to see and photograph, but to be honest we were both left feeling rather underwhelmed by what we saw.

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The tour we were booked on was called “Benanzos, Estuaries and Gardens”, it was one that I had done several years ago before I met Carol, and it being her first visit to A Coruña it was new to her. The tour started with around a thirty minute drive to our first stop, the historic small town of Benanzos. On the way our local guide spoke pretty much non-stop, regaling us with all sorts of facts and figures about A Coruña and the surrounding area. As we approached Benanzos he told us that we would have around an hour and a half in the town, with a 45 minute guided walk and a 45 minute period of free time. On every other tour I have been on, and indeed the previous time I did this very same tour, the guided walk was done first, so that we could orientate ourselves in the town, and decide where we might like to go back to in our free time to see in more detail. Not so this time, we were to have our free time first, and then meet for the guided walk. As he had so far told us very little about what there was to see in the town or where to go, and we didn’t know for sure where he was going to take us, it was back to that same question – which way should we go?

We did wander around for around half an hour before finding a bench to sit and wait for our tour – bizarrely only then did the person from the Tours department – oops I mean Destinations department, must get the new naming right! – give us a map of the town.

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Our local guide then took us for our guided walk, which was around some of the oldest parts of the town. He showed us the outside of the town churches and explained to us about their decoration, but being out of season and a Monday the churches were closed up and we were not able to see inside unlike last time I did the tour. By now the weather was mostly cloudy, and to be honest the town did not look as attractive as I had found it last time, which was in much better weather.

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Rejoining our coach, it was then just a ten minute drive to Pazo de Mariñan, where we were taken for a walk around a garden (singular), which overlooked an estuary (singular). When I did the tour before I had been very impressed with the garden, there were lots of lovely plants and flowers to see, but being the end of November it had very little to offer other than a few camellias and plenty of mud to walk across.

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The final part of the tour was a scenic drive back to A Coruña travelling alongside the same estuary, and then around the city. We had a short photo-stop so that we could photograph the famous Tower of Hercules – a lighthouse first built by the Romans, and the oldest lighthouse in the world that is still in operation.

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Our scenic drive from there back towards our ship took us through streets that looked much more interesting than the ones that we had found on foot in the morning – we had clearly made the wrong decision earlier when we went left instead of right. On the positive side, we will be returning to the city on future cruises, so we do know which direction to take next time!

Returning to our ship, I was just in time to catch the harbour and the buildings with their galerías in the setting sunlight.

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Sadly both of us found the tour rather disappointing. Clearly it was the wrong time of year to be doing it which didn’t help – but the reverse order of things in Betzanos – the free time, the map, the guided walk – made matters worse.
Postscript 1

We are now at sea on the first of two sea days sailing down to our next port of call, Funchal in Madeira. This time the sea is not so calm – when we came out of dinner last night and saw that sick bags had been put out along the corridors then we knew things were changing. Today the ship has been rolling around quite a bit – enough for one of the glasses in our cabin to fall on the floor and break – but fortunately both Carol and I are good sailors and (touch wood) we have not yet been adversely affected.

Our adventures in Funchal are likely to be the subject of my next post. However our day there is the first of five consecutive days in different ports, so it may be some time before I have sufficient time to prepare and post it.

 

Postscript 2

If a passenger has a birthday, or a couple have a wedding anniversary, then the waiters at dinner will gather round with a cake and a candle, and sing “Happy Birthday” or “Congratulations” as appropriate. This evening at dinner we saw the waiters getting ready, and wondered which passenger was going to be the “victim”. However tonight there was a twist – it was one of the waiters that had the birthday – a lovely touch that I had not seen before.

 

Postscript 3

The main show this evening was given by the fabulous E. Sarah Carter, who I first saw a couple of years ago, and was so impressed by her show that I wrote about it in my posts M1626 – Very Moorish and M1626 – Familiar sights. Her show was as brilliant as ever, with a great mix of musical styles brilliantly played, and with great comedy twists too. Definitely an act to see if you get the chance.

L1836 – Suite Return

In my last post, W1821 – Giant Way (part 2) , I described the complications brought on by my going down with a gastroenteritis bug on the very last afternoon of our wonderful cruise to Canada, including an unplanned stay on in Liverpool for a couple of days and an epic drive back home.

I am pleased to report that after being washed out for a few days I am now back fit and ready for our final cruise of this year, and also relieved that this time we are back to sailing from Southampton, which is less than an hour’s drive from where Carol and I live.

Regular readers might remember that we happen to be taking cruises on all of Fred. Olsen’s ships in turn, and this time we will be on the largest ship in the fleet, Balmoral. Our cruise will take us south to Spain, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Morocco and finally Portugal – all in just two weeks! Here is a map of our route:

Most of the ports of call will be very familiar to Carol and me – in my case the only new ones will be Gran Tarajal on Fuerteventura, and Agadir in Morocco. Of course Carol and I will always love returning to Madeira, as it was there that our relationship first started back on our first world cruise – see W1701 – Funchal Fun.

One thing that is going to make this cruise really special is that like our final cruise last year, we will be in one of the two Owners Suites on Balmoral. For anyone unfamiliar with just how spacious and luxurious this accommodation is, then there are some photographs in my post L1724 – Baltic in style.

When we booked this cruise we were hoping for some early winter sunshine and warmth, but in the past few days we have been watching reports on the news of torrential rain in Spain (not staying on the plain!), and 40 feet high waves causing damage in Tenerife. We have got everything crossed that things will have quietened down by the time we get there, and that we might be able to break out the t-shirts and shorts after all.

We are due to reach our first port, La Coruña in Spain, on the afternoon of our second day of the cruise. Our adventures there are likely to be the subject of my next post.

 

Postscript

Although Carol and I enjoy attending the talks and shows on board ship, it is not often we do so when we are on those rare intervals at home between cruises. However in the month we have been at home between our Canadian cruise and this one, we have been to see four of them – a bit like buses where you wait for ages with nothing, then several come along at once.

The stand-out show that I wanted to talk about was that given by Simon Reeve, the presenter of so many brilliant travel documentaries on BBC television. I have always loved his presentation style – not just showing the pretty scenery on his travels, but digging out the stories and shining light on the darker sides as well as the lighter sides of the places he visits. He also has a brilliant interviewing style, his quiet unassuming manner getting the people he interviews to relax and open up much more than other presenters with a more up front style might manage.

With one short interval to rest his voice, Simon spoke for around two and a half hours, punctuated with photographs and video clips from his travels and television programmes. We were impressed how open and candid he was talking about his teenage years, telling us about his mental health problems and how he was on the fringes of criminal behaviour. He told us how he left school without any qualifications, and how he struggled to find a job. Eventually he managed to get a job sorting mail for the Times newspaper, and by working extra hard and volunteering for anything, he made a name for himself doing research and some investigation work. He left the paper to write books, and got his big break when after the nightmare of 9/11 he was the one person who had written a book on the terrorists behind it, and found himself much in demand on television news and current affairs programs around the world. Contacts made, then led him into making travel documentaries, and the rest as they say is history.

Simon talked eloquently about the how much we can all gain from travelling the world, and told us how important it was to immerse yourself as much as possible – don’t do ‘beige’ travelling – try the local foods, and talk to the local people – he said almost everywhere he went people were so friendly and welcomed answering any questions you might have. Of course he did show us clips and talked about some of the other side of travelling, when he has visited dangerous hotspots around the world, requiring armed minders and flak jackets – but I think we are unlikely to need this on a Fred. Olsen cruise – unless of course we should be foolish enough to visit the passenger laundry room at a busy time!

It was an outstanding evening which whizzed by all to quickly. I know his current tour is a complete sell-out, but if in the future you get the chance to go and see him then don’t hesitate to do so.